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Trump is once again seeking absolute immunity from civil lawsuits related to the Capitol riots.
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Trump’s team filed a request on July 27 to appeal a previous court ruling.
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The February ruling ruled that Trump could be held liable for misconduct in civil proceedings.
Former President Donald Trump is again trying to get a court to grant him absolute immunity from civil lawsuits related to the January 6, 2021 Capitol uprising.
In the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, Trump’s team appealed the February decision overturned by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta.
Mehta’s ruling said Trump could face civil liability in lawsuits related to the Capitol riots.
Mehta noted the repeated use of the word “we” in Trump’s statements, saying it implied that Trump and the rally-goers “would have acted together toward a common goal” on January 6, 2021.
“That is the essence of a civil conspiracy,” the judge wrote.
Trump’s team submission was first shared by Politico reporter Josh Gerstein in a tweet on wednesday night.
In the filing, Trump’s attorneys argued that there are existing means of punishing a president for bad behavior, which do not require civil suits.
Citing impeachment as an example, they wrote that a “Democrat-controlled house” had already held Trump accountable for the riots, claiming further lawsuits amount to harassment. The Senate acquitted Trump by 57 to 43 votes.
They also stated that “hyperbolism about the January 6 violence” should not undermine Trump’s protection from legal action as a former president.
“President Trump is protected by absolute presidential immunity because his statements were on matters of public interest and thus well within the scope of the robust absolute immunity that all presidents offer,” Trump’s team stated in the filing.
The former president’s lawyers also said Trump wants pleas in the case to answer the “important constitutional question” of whether he has absolute immunity.
The filing comes amid a Rolling Stone report that Trump believes running for president in 2024 will grant him legal immunity. The former president is currently facing multiple legal issues, including investigations into his company’s finances.
He could also face a Justice Department investigation into his role in the Capitol riot. This idea was brought up again last week when Attorney General Merrick Garland said the DOJ wants to hold anyone “criminally responsible” for the riots to account.
Read the original article on Business Insider
